The present invention relates generally to a luggage case, and more particularly, to a luggage case with a retractable handle and wheels and a luggage case which is uniquely constructed to provide efficiency in packing and in gaining access to items within the case.
There are a great number of suitcase or luggage case products of all different sizes and shapes presently available. These are used primarily for transporting clothing and other personal items during travel. Many of these are smaller cases which can be easily handled and carried without assistance from redcaps at the airports or bellboys at the hotels. Because of their size, however, the amount of space available for the packing of clothes and the like is quite limited. Further, most of these smaller cases are of conventional construction having a bottom half into which the clothes or other personal items are packed and a top half or cover which is simply closed over the items when the packing is complete. As a result, access to any particular item in the case usually involves rummaging through the entire contents of the suitcase until the desired item is located.
The larger suitcases and luggage cases, particularly when fully packed, are quite heavy and usually require the assistance of a redcap or bellboy or a wheeled cart or mechanism to move these larger cases from one location to another. Some of the larger luggage cases presently existing in the prior art have incorporated retractable wheels within the luggage itself. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,510,754 granted to Norlin, U.S. Pat. No. 3,141,680 granted to McCord et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,314,624 granted to Royet all disclose luggage cases with a retractable handle and retractable wheels. While these prior art structures have been generally satisfactory in some applications, the mechanisms tend to be quite complicated and lack the stability and sturdiness desired in a large luggage case. Further, each of these luggage case structures incorporates a conventional case design having a bottom portion and a hinged cover. In these conventional cases, clothes or other personal items are first laid or packed into the bottom portion after which the cover is then closed. Such construction makes access to a particular item within the case virtually impossible, in some cases, without unpacking the entire contents. Still further, the only access to these prior art luggage cases is by opening the entire case in the conventional manner.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a luggage case, regardless of size, with a retractable handle and retractable wheels which is sturdy and of relatively simple construction and which has a case construction which permits easy access to the clothes or other items packed into the case while still providing efficiency of storage.